This piece was written by Jenn Vesperman. Used with permission.
A long-term, chronic illness changes your life. It also changes the lives of the people around you, and your relationship to them.
A marriage where one partner has a chronic illness has a different dynamic from one of healthy partners, and that dynamic continues for some time even if the sick partner becomes healthy.
The healthy partner tends to take on physical actions - even something as simple as being the one to get drinks. The healthy partner will probably do the shopping, clean the house, go to work - the load is really very heavy.
This doesn't mean the relationship is unhealthy or exploitative. The less active partner may be making decisions, maintaining outside relationships, bearing emotional burdens.
A marriage, or a long-term partnership, is a complex thing. If you're on the outside of one looking in, be aware that there are complexities beneath what you see.
